


after death

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Dream Bubbles, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 19:05:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1576253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>eridan turns, sweeping his eyes across the room, ignoring karkat and instead focusing on kanaya. kanaya, who had been sitting, watching, waiting, now stood, meeting eridan's eyes. she has to do something, she knows. she doesn't say it; she may as well scream it. but eridan won't hear her. he doesn't. he only moves, fires, pauses to consider something, and leaves. there is a squeak and she falls, choking back blood.</p><p>and then there is darkness.</p><p>or, kanaya maryam's death and double-death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	after death

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be humanstuck. it isn't

AA: kanaya!  
GA: Hello  
GA: Is That You In The Cute Red Pajamas  
AA: yep thats me  
GA: I Like Your Wings  
AA: thank you!  
AA: i like your dress  
GA: It Is Nice Isnt It   
GA: So Why Am I Here

Aradia hesitates, rational answers sinking fast in her mind. Kanaya waits, something settling deep in what should be her stomach.

The former flutters over, unnoticed despite. "I don't know," she says clearly, and Kanaya starts. It is a little funny, you think, that Aradia snuck up on her just now. Usually it Kanaya scaring her friends with her undead quickness, not the other way around.

"Either you're dead, asleep, or unconscious," she continues, "like how Sollux showed up when he went blind. Maybe you blacked out!"

"I do not think so." Kanaya folds her hands in his lap and wrings her hands, cut and edgy, but elegant nevertheless.

"What do you remember?" Aradia asked the standard question for the freshly dead, asleep or passed out.

"I remember... yellow. And fuchsia. And also, immense pain, particularly in my lower torso area." Aradia's eyes flicker down to the perfect O shaped hole in Kanaya's stomach, and she does not ignore this blatant signal. Something is not right.

"Kanaya, do you know the difference between fate and destiny?" Kanaya shakes her head.

"I cannot say I do."

"Well... destiny is what paradox space had planned for you! Back when you were just another twinkle in the mother grub's eye, the universe was already setting you up. You were meant for greatness, Kanaya! You were supposed to live. But that's where fate comes in, you see. While destiny is what should've been, and could've been, fate simply _is._ Destiny is what was meant to happen, and fate is what happens anyway."

"I understand. But what does this have to do with --"

"Kanaya, fate can also mean doom. And sometimes fate and destiny are the same thing!" Aradia waves her hand, as if preemptively dismissing further interruptions. She closes her eyes and asks, "Can you guess which you got stuck with?"

"Fate? Is that the point you are trying to make, or..." Kanaya trails off as Aradia nods in response. "So I'm dead."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Aradia frowns, shrugging with her hands rather than her shoulders. "Honestly I thought you died a looooooong time ago! You know, Eridan?"

"Eridan." Kanaya's face crinkles with disgust, like she has only just realized what is happening, and it hits her all at once, when her eyes ice over and the grey fades so there is only white, blank sclera left. The blood, which had settled a while ago, now dries. Until that moment of realization, Kanaya's face had remained still and refined, but now it is apprehensive, _fearful._ The hole closes, and Kanaya falls again. She knows there's only one question left to ask.

"What now?"

\---

Sweeps pass. At least, you think it is sweeps. Aradia doesn't leave, despite your calmest assurances that you are perfectly fine alone, and you would like to roam in peace. And when you ask her, she simply tells you _no, I haven't ever followed a ghost through the afterlife and no, I don't plan to again._ At first, you found in endearing, then exasperating, and now, she is simply a follower, she isn't supposed to mean anything.

But she does mean something, and you both know that.

On your quest to find those special Heroes of Light that you never really got to say goodbye to, you meet many ghosts. Some you recognize, others, you don't. At first, they seemed intimidated and a little confused by Aradia constantly being with you, but soon it became evident to anyone who frequently passed through your bubble that the two of you would not leave, no sir, not until the day (?) you double-die.

Eventually, word gets to you of a traveling demon, an invincible Time player who, you hear, is able to destroy ghost's soul with but a single look. You brush it off at first, until the amount of people looking in one direction in your particular bubble begins to worry you, and you crane your neck to get a better look. What you see scares you, even more than when you realized you were dead; that fear was pure nerves and emotion, that fear didn't numb your non-beating bloodpusher, didn't make your bones ache with numbness.

The first thing is, it's not anything that you expected. This is it, you're sure this is the demon they spoke of, but it isn't... troll, or human, falling under the last option, "otherwise". It is green, completely skeletal, it has bright red cheeks and it isn't right. It terrifies you, rots you on the inside. It's eyes are the worst. You turn for Aradia, but she's gone. Fleed, you think, no you _know,_ and you don't blame her because you want to run away too. But you can't, because when you turn back around, something is happening, and your last thought is _no, this can't be right _,__ and then it's all over.

You double-die.

__\---_ _

You regret it. You regret leaving her like that, but you couldn't just up and take her with you, so instead you took the next best thing: her dream lunchtop. She had, somehow, managed to fit it into the folds of her skirt and it fell out when she stood up too quickly. This time, she didn't turn back to pick it up, so you did, then quickly put it away to get a better look at all the commotion. When you saw it, you froze up.

And then you ran.

When you stopped, you spent several minutes panting and wondering why you didn't just fly. You straighten up, then you fall, sit cross-legged and take out the lunchtop. You open Trollian quickly, and open the logs. There is only one new message, from her.

GA: Thank You  
GA:  
GA: :) 

And then, only then, do you realize what has happened. Lord English arrived (even though you KNOW he was already there), and now Kanaya, along with all those other poor lost souls... they're gone. Dead. For good, this time.

You regret it.


End file.
